Where to Put the Straw Bales

I had a week to think about where on my property I wanted to put my straw bales before they were delivered on April 5th.  Of course, the delivery man from Arbor Farms Nursery just stacked them on our driveway.  But unless you plan on covering the bales with a tarp, you will need to get them placed on your property as soon as possible.  They are heavy enough dry, but if they get wet, they are going to be way too heavy for most people to move.  

You'll want to refer to some online sources or the Straw Bale Gardens book for considerations that affect your property, but generally look for spots that get 4-8 hours of sun each day.  And to preserve water, it's best to put some side-by-side to have less sides of the bales exposed.

I live in a sub-division on the far north side of Fort Wayne.  Ideally, I would have put all my straw bales in the back yard...away from the possible negative scrutiny of neighbors.

My house faces south.  I  have a decent-sized lot, but there are mature trees in the back yard, which limits the amount of sun most of my back yard gets.  And unless I wanted to put a bunch of bales up next to the wooden privacy fence on the back (north) border of my property -- which would be the farthest point from our back deck and a long way to stretch the hose -- I only had one other sunny option.  But it was a perfect option for some of my bales.  Three years ago, I had started a compost pile between two tall trees which were hard to mow between because of smaller stumps and a couple of younger trees.  The area is very near our back deck, close to the hose, and gets great sun...all considered. 

Because I get full sun in my front yard, I put most of the bales there.  Two went right beside our front porch, where an overgrown cedar tree had to be taken out a few years back.  I will be planting summer (yellow) and zucchini on the top of the bales.  On the sides that show, I will put herbs and low, bunching annuals (like alyssum, petunias, rose moss, etc.  I need to do some more reseach on what would look good there.

2 bales next to our front porch.

Across the sidewalk from those two bales, I have a big flower bed, that has quite a few shrubs.  I put four bales behind some low shrubs, but the bales will get full sun.  In those bales, I will put several tomatoes on the top, back edge (and stake them), then put other vegetables -- yet to be determined -- in front of them.

4 bales in large front flowerbed, bordering the sidewalk.

I put two bales on the far side of the drive-way, where I have a small flower bed next to the garage door.  The bales are at the back of the flower bed, and I have lots of perennials in that bed.  I will probably put more squash and zucchini on top, and herbs and annuals on the exposed sides.

2 bales in a flower bed on far side of driveway, next to garage door.

I put the final four bales on the top of some decomposing leaves in the backyard compost pile.  Along the back edge of those bales, I'll put some pole beans and peas and other veggies in front of them.  I'll put some herbs on the front side.

4 bales in the back yard compost pile.

After getting the bales in place, Dad and I watered them like crazy.  They have to be "conditioned" for the next two weeks.  I have a month before planting most of my vegetables, but the longer the bales "cook," the better it will be for their new inhabitants.  

The conditioning steps will be the focus of my next post.